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The Pattonville Board of Education sent the following message to Pattonville parents and staff on Dec. 18.

Dear Staff and Parents,

This fall Dr. Fulton informed the Board he would not be seeking an extension to his current three-year contract, which ends June 30, 2020. As a Board of Education we know this is an important life decision and appreciate Dr. Fulton providing us with plenty of notice. He is the leader of our Pattonville team and, true to his character, put the long-term well-being of students, parents, staff and community first.

Given the gift of time for reflection and planning, the Board has developed a process for selecting a successor. Part of our reflection involved whether to conduct a nationwide search. We concluded that Pattonville would be far better served by developing a succession plan based on internal talent. Pattonville is an extraordinary school district doing national-level work. We have exceptional internal talent leading those efforts and strongly believe the right successor comes from within the district.

As such, on December 20th the Board of Education will do an internal posting for a successor superintendent. The Board anticipates completing the process no later than February 13, 2018. The person selected will continue in their current role and be mentored by Dr. Fulton. The Board of Education has the authority to simply appoint a successor but we believe the application and interview process is important to selecting the next superintendent.

As a Board of Education we recognize the importance of this decision. Pattonville has had only three superintendents in the past 33 years. It is worth noting that 11 years ago Pattonville's Board of Education conducted a superintendent search and selected Dr. Fulton, an internal candidate, over a number of external candidates. The Board will seek a leader committed to staying and making Pattonville even better in the years ahead.

Pattonville Board of Education

About Dr. Mike Fulton

Dr. Mike Fulton became superintendent of the Pattonville School District on July 1, 2007. He joined Pattonville in 1995, first working as the director of assessment and later taking on the roles of assistant superintendent for planning and assessment and assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

Fulton has chaired or co-chaired several statewide committees related to student learning, assessment and accountability, including the Missouri Association of School Administrators' (MASA) Show Me Accreditation and Assessment Task Force; the Missouri Public Education Vision Project - Teaching, Learning and Assessment Committee, a joint effort by the Missouri School Boards Association (MSBA) and MASA; and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's (DESE) Task Force for Proficiency-Based Learning.

Fulton is a member of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) Governing Board and immediate past president of the Kansas-Missouri Superintendents Leadership Forum. He was named Missouri Superintendent of the Year in 2016.

Fulton has worked in education for more than 32 years. He and his wife, Katy, live in the Pattonville School District. They have four children, all Pattonville graduates.